Tractor-trailer attachment.



E. 0. SUTTON.

- TRACTOR TRAILER ATTACHMENT.-

APPLICATION r|LEnMAn.12.\s|1.

mmm A1A. 23, MA.

WITNESS l l INI/Ecm.

A TTORNE YS.

l le' TRACTOR-TRAILER ATTACHMENT.

To aZZ whom z'tmay concern:

^ Be it known that l, EDWARD O. SUTTON,

l a citizen of the. United States of America,

residing at Springfield,.in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have Vinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tractor-Trailer Attachments, of

which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates generally to draft and traction apparatus and more particularly toan improved draft and traction apparatus which may be used to advantage in the now well known tractor-trailer combination of vehicles for highway use.

lt is generally desirable in such a combination of vehicles to have the draft connection connected to the tractor at a point higher than that at which it is connected to the trailer, for, by so doing, improved traction on the driving wheels of the tractor is obtained. The draft connection 'heretofore used, however, has usually been a rigid one and, when the coupled vehicles are traveling on a down gradeor during any retardation period of the tractor, asin quick braking action, the trailer ushes on the tractor by means of therigifi) draft connectlon. rllhe f result of such an arrangement is that tlfe push exerted by the trailer on the tractor tends to lift the rear wheels of the latter,

when the so-called high pull connection Is used, and thereby the pressure on the rear wheels is diminished. The danger of thus reducing the pressure on the rear Wheels may lead to ser-ious difhculty by decreasing the braking effect exerted by the tractor whenthe latter is extremely'desirable as on going down steep grades.

rllhe main object of thig,` invention isto provide in a tractor-trailer combination of vehlcles, a connecting means therebetween which is operable to exert a downward thrust on the driving wheels of the tractor when the trailer is pushing on the latter, the means being characterized b augmenting the pressure on the tractor riving wheels 'at time when most needed to insure e'ective.' braking operations of the tractor. v

Another object ofthis invention is to provide an improved arrangementkof draft and traction apparatus whereby the driving and trailing vehicles may be so coupled together as to augment at all times the pressure on the driving wheels` of the driving vehicle or tractor beyond that due to the weight of the latter when the vehicles are movlng.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pateecnfgnd Apr., 23, jlljll'o Application led March 12, 1917. Serial No. 154,275. A

Another object of this invention is to provide a flexible draft connection between a point on the driving vehicle and a lower point on the trailing vehicle, and a rigid connection between a point on the trailing vehicle and a lower point on the driving vehicle, said last named connection arranged to come into play when the tension in the flexible connection is relaxed.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following description and in the appended claims. y

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a single embodiment of the invention is shown for illustrative purposes- Figure l is a plan View showing the'draft apparatus as Aapplied to connect the rear end of t tractor to the `forward end of'a trailer; an

F ig. 2 is a sectional elevation of Fig. l.

Referring to these drawings in detail, A

4represents the frame of a tractor lor other driving vehicle and B the'frame'of the trailing vehicle. Frame A is shown as supported from a `rear axle a, and on the latter are suitable driving wheels b. The latter may be driven in any -suitable manner, and the driving means -has been omitted from the drawing as unnecessary to an understanding of the invention.. The forwardwlieels cof trailer B are mounted on an axle cl which supports the trailer frame through the intermediary of a suitable fifth wheel device e. Axle d is thus the' steering means for the trailer and may be connected to the tractor in anysuitable manner 'for steering purposes. Since the steering means forms no part Aof lthe present invention, it has been' omitted from the illustration and dcscrip tion as' unnecessary to an understanding of the invention. It is recognized -that a means Y of the known'steering connections may be provided as desired. rlhe tractor and trailer have been illustrated only in a conventional way merely for the purpose of illustrating the application of the invention thereto. lt

-is to be understood that the tractor andtrailer may be of any type desired as the invention is inthe mainindependent' of the particular structure of the connected vehicles.

The draft connection between the tractor and trailer is preferably flexible and may for a reason to appear.

6 and eye bolts'Z. Itis preferred to have the points at .which chains are secured to tractor A located in a plane above the points at which the chains are secured to axles d tween the tractor and trailer is whichcomprises a rod 8 connected to the forward end ofthe trailer by a ball and socket joint and a rod 10 similarly connected to axle a of the tractor. `The,'rod 8 is slidable lin a hole 11 formed in the enlarged provided end of rod 10, as `shown in. Fig. 2., and has appear,

a liange 12 thereon which is adapted, as will to abut the end of rod 10.`

In normal operation, the tractor-A draws the trailer bymeans of the latter are taut, fiang'e l2 is separated as shown in Fig. 2 from the enlarged end of rodlO. The rods 8 and 10 are always held in valinement by the engagement of the *former in socket 11, and form an extensible and contractible connection between the velike.

hicles. The ball and socket connection of rods 8 and 10 with the trailer and tractor, respectively, permits steering of the4 latter by allowing for swinging movement of the rods 8 and 10 as the vehicles'are turned, the one relatively to the. other. The ball and socket connections units lA and B so that the one can-'rise and fall freely relatively to the other when traveling over rough rqads, on grades and the In normal operation, when' tractor A is pulling trailer B by means of chains 5 ar ranged asfshown in Fig. 2, an increased pressure is obtained on the tractor driving wheels b over and above that due to the weightof the tractor. The force is applied to the trailer at anangle and the line of applied force inclines upwardly toward the tractor. This forcemay be Aresolved into twocomponents, one acting in a horizontal direction to draw the trailer and the other acting in a4 vertical direction to force the driving wheels b downward. vThus, by connecting the tractor and trailer in this manner, increased traction is obtained on the tractor driving wheels. Although the arrangement of chains described is preferred on account of increased traction, it is, however', not essential, and the invention is independent of the particular arrangement of chains.

The invention is. morey particularly concerned with means to .exert a downward pressure on the tractor driving wheels at chains 5 and, whenI A connection be? furthermore allow. rela# tive variations in heights of the` connected such times as the trailer is pushing on the tractor in order to insure eifective braking operations of the latter. For'r example, when the vehicles aretraveling on a down grade or during any cried of retardation of the tractor, the trailer normally exerts a push on the tractor. This push is made use of to secure increased pressure on the tractor drivirig wheels. Thus, the connection 5 beingflexible as described slackens when the tractor is retarded, and the two vehicles `move together .until the flange 12 abuts lthe enlarged end pushing eHect of the trailer on the tractor is exerted in a direction inclined downwardly toward the tractor axle a. This force may beresolved into horizontal and vertical components as before, and it will of rod 10. Thereafter, the

be obvious that the vertical component acts the driving wheels 'of the tractor is 1ncreased at times when most needed to in' sure an effective brakingeort by the tractor lso Ithat the coupled vehicles may travel safely down steep' grades.

Thus, an improved draft and traction apparatus has beenp'rovided which is characterized by producing a downward pressure on the driving wheels of the tractor at all times when the trailer is pushing on the latter together with means to increase the traction on the driving wheels when the tractor is pulling the trailer. The invention has been described herein in one form for. the' purpose of illustration, but the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

What I claim is- 1. The combination with a driving and a trailin vehicle, of a draft connection between Vsaid ve icl'es and another connection between the vehicles automatically operable at all times when the trailing vehicle is pushing the driving vehicle to exert a downward prestween said vehicles operable when the driving vehicle is pulling the trailing vehicle to exert a downward pressureon the driving wheels ofthe driving vehicle, and a device connecting said vehicles operable when the trailing vehicle is pushing the driving vehicle to exert a downward pressure` on the driving wheels thereof.

l 4. The combination with a driving anda trailing vehicle, of a flexible draft connection therebetween operable when the driving vehicle is pulling the trailing vehicle to exert a downward pressure on the driving wheels of tween the vehicles arranged to come into play when ythe draft connection slackens to exert a downward pressure on the driving wheelsof the driving vehicle. .l

The combination with a tractor and trailer of a draft connection between a point on the tractor and a lower point on the trailer, whereby when the tractor pulls the ltrailer a downward p ressure is exerted on the driving wheels of the tractor, and`connecting means between a point o n `the trailer anda lower point on the tractor operable to exert a downward pressure on the drivingwheels ofthe tractor during retardation of the latter.

6. The combination with a tractor and the former, and a connecting means be- A.

said means 4nient when the tractor is trailer of a flexible draft connection between a point on the tractor anda lower point on the trailer, and means connecting a point on the latter to a lower point on the tractor, Said ineans comprising `relatively movable parts which, when the tractor is retarded,l

constructed and arranged for relative extension to -pern'iit the trailer to be pulled through said draft connection and for abutretarded to permit a downward thrust of the trailer to be transmitted to the tractor,

l EDWARD O. SUTTON.

comprising interengaging parts` 

